The governing body of the game would be free to compete in the world championship of fencing later this month, after leaving the independent vet of dandruff and belarie athletes.
The International Fencing Fedation (FIE) under the new nervous policy, associated with military clubs is no longer an innocent factor for fans wishing to achieve a neutral status.
The decision has allowed five -time medalist Sofya Velikaya to enter the Russian Army, based on its membership of Army Club CSKA, to enter this year’s World Championship, which begins in Tibilisi, Georgia on 22 July. Army or police.
Specifically referring to Velikaya in Tabilisi, a senior European fencing officer told DW: “The total is no-go for me.” It was officially stated that they “offend” to the decision to scrape independent checks.
The move has created so much anger in Ukraine, the country is still heavy under the attack from Russia.
“This is a slap not only for Ukrainian athletes, but also for the entry global sports community,” said Mychelo Iyiashev, president of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation. “We have emphasized since the beginning that this entire process of testing Russian fans for neutrality is a distant.”
Ukraine: Velikaya has no right to specialize
The Ukrainian sports authorities have long campaigned in international programs, even in international programs against the participation of any athlete of Russia and its ally Belarus.
From now on, FIE will only require only Russian and Belarusian fans to sign the form that confirm its neutrality, without any third party inspection. The requirements do not include any public statements that support war or especially in pro -any war rallies.
The policy declared in a letter to FIE members unions, 2024 breaks down with one of the main neutrality rules imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the Paris Olympics. There, any athlete that contracted “Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies” could not do “especially.
40 -year -old Velikaya missed the game of Paris due to the status of his army. She had never joined the list of neutral athletes, and her inclusion in the World Championship – partner CSKA members Yana Agorian and Olga Nikitina, which both have a military rank – have shocked several observers.
In June, Ukraine complained after nominating Velikaya as a candidate for the FIE athletes’ commission, which revealed his role as an official pracharak for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election – “a trusted” – as his role.
“A person cannot be recognized as a neutral and has no right to participate in the international sports movement – and even less to claim to represent the interests of athletes around the world,” the Ukraine’s Sports Ministry wrote in a joint statement with the Ukrainian Olympic Committee and the Ukrainian Fencing Federation.
It states that “aggressive countries are using sports, not for dialogue and unity, but as a tool of publicity.”
Viting process ‘burden and expensive’
Earlier, and similar to several international sports, FIE hired a cyber security company and independent lawyer, which was to verify the information collected on Russian and Belarusian fans, who applied for neutral conditions. At that time, the criteria to give it was in line with the rules of the IOC.
Explaining its decision in the letter on 7 July, FIE called the veating process “burden and especially expensive”, and said that it wants to “simplify the process, makes it sharp and less expensive.”
This is the second time in three months that the FIE has gone against IOC, decided in April that he allows teams of neutral athletes in his programs, something that entered the neck in Paris.
Asked by DW to comment on FIE’s diving policies, the IOC replied that the governing body of each game is the only right to its international competitions outside the Olympic Games. “
FIE did not respond to the remarks request.
Are Russian billionaires pulling wire?
Observers say fencing has long been in dandruff.
In March 2023, the game was one of the first people to redmit Russian and Belarusis as neutrals.
Meuhhile, last November, Russian billionaire Alishar Osmanov – once discoured once the European Union “one of the favorite elite classes of Vladimir Putin” – was re -selected as President of FIE for the fifth term, despite being approved in about 40 countries.
Usmanov, who reject the term “alligarch”, which prevents fencing from single-hand over the years. Hey, a few days after his reunion, stood below the presidency, although the game has been suspected suspicious that he continues to pull the wire from behind the curtain.
Another fence source told DW that Osmanov’s influence was “clear”, but indicated most of the faults in the FIE’s ruling executive committee.
The source said, “The recent decision to return fans in teams with known and public military affiliation before and after the war is simply unacceptable, while maintaining restrictions on Russian and Belarusian participation against the world of IOC and sports,” the source said.
Edited by: Matt Pearson
